10th anniversary WTs maiden finals series

innsaneink

innsaneink

Well-known member
This day ten years back, we were all waking up after absolutely thrashing the Cowboys 50-6 in week one of the 2005 finals series

Quite a few records broken that night…. I was stunned... I was nervous... Three weeks later I made myself sick with nerves as we qualified for the Grand Final.

It might be good to look back over the next few weeks to a terrific time
 
I was nervous as anything, but felt fairly comfortable by half time :slight_smile:

might have to re-watch that game today, do 1 each week
 
I was at the game. Sat next to an old guy and his kids (Wests supporters) was a great night. As we were leaving and saying goodbye the old guy commented he was still worried about the defence. This just after we'd won 50-6\. Besides, if there was any yr you could throw defence out the window and say to the opposition "if you score 30, we'll score 31", that was it, our attack was that good.
 
Our defense in that last month was amazing.

The intensity and work was the best I have ever seen…and the scramble was just wow!!

Against the Broncs in that first half hour they busted us open half a dozen times and players came from no where to keep our line unbroken.....

And the Dragons.....that second half was just brilliant...Saints threw the kitchen sink at us and could not beat us!!

Our attack was amazing....but our D kept us in games long enough for our attack to shine!
 
The greatest night in the history of the Wests Tigers…better than the GF IMO..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYM0-NlM_pA&feature=youtu.be
 
The pre lim final was the highlight of the whole season. Still my favourite memory as a supporter. From memory, there was controversy in the lead up due to tickets going on sale before we'd even played the Broncos, so the majority of tickets got snapped up by Dragons fans as they had already advanced. The support ended up about 70-30 Dragons, but the Wests fans absolutely drowned them out. The atmosphere that night is something I don't think will ever be matched. The roar of Marshall scoring in the first 5 mins was probably the loudest I've ever heard
 
I was flying home from the US that night and the game had not started when I boarded the plane. When I arrived in Sydney on Sat morning I turned on my phone and it went crazy. I was in disbelief at the score being reported. I went home and watched the replay straight away, even though I had mad jetlag.

When we made the GF, I was most nervous about playing the team we had already flogged, if we might get complacent or they might rise to the occasion. Winning the GF was as much relief as elation.

Still not as good a feeling as knocking off the Dragons though.
 
The roar when Benji scored…...the nailbiting second half.

The Hammer!!!! And how excited the team was to be in the GF!

And how about the Saints fans??they were distraught.

On the way out we were offering to buy their GF tix which we assured them they wouldnt need.

JFTR this was in response to them showing us the GF tix that we wouldnt need earlier!!
 
@ghost said:
Our defense in that last month was amazing.

The intensity and work was the best I have ever seen…and the scramble was just wow!!

Against the Broncs in that first half hour they busted us open half a dozen times and players came from no where to keep our line unbroken.....

And the Dragons.....that second half was just brilliant...Saints threw the kitchen sink at us and could not beat us!!

Our attack was amazing....but our D kept us in games long enough for our attack to shine!
Click to expand...

THAT game was the most underrated game of the series vs the Broncos. Our boys just kept turning up time and time again.
 
The match against the Dragons was our finest hour. Our unsung hero was Dene Halautau who scored in the first half playing lock. If I remember correctly in the second half one of our wingers could not take the field due to injury and Dene took his position and his try on the wing closed the door on the Dragons. If he stays with us in 2016 he will be the last remaining 2005 combatant still with Wests Tigers. Very fond memories indeed. I think the club should in 2016 use the 2005 jumper used against Dragons in that match. It will put some starch in our players.
 
I couldnt get to any games in 2005, so I remember rushing out to buy a 60inch rear projection TV and a DVD recorder for the first game against the cows….. :blush:
 
Anyone actually have access to these games on file? I know some DVDs did the rounds a few years back, I obviously have the GF, but I've never had access to the other 2005 finals matches.

I'd be happy to put these into a torrent if someone could get me a copy, for all forummers to access.
 
A wondrous time to be alive. Each game brought a larger sense of disbelief and multiplied the nerves - I have no idea how I managed the week between the prelim and the GF….

I wore the same clothes to each game (which was a bit annoying as I had to carry around a spray jacket), tried to keep my routine the same for each lead up. For some reason a bunch of us had gone to the Mountbatten on George St in town after work before getting the train to the Cowboys semi, so we did the same for each week, even when it wasn't at all convenient. Ordered the same drinks/food... the important things.
I was absolutely crestfallen on GF day when one of our group turned up at the pub in a different jersey to the one he'd worn for the previous games. He tried to tell me it'd be alright, but I could barely look him in the eye. Thankfully he was right, and I was/am an overly superstitious idiot.
 
@jirskyr said:
Anyone actually have access to these games on file? I know some DVDs did the rounds a few years back, I obviously have the GF, but I've never had access to the other 2005 finals matches.

I'd be happy to put these into a torrent if someone could get me a copy, for all forummers to access.
Click to expand...

I have a copy of the season highlights that may include a bit of footage of this actual game, I remember this match extremely well as my son who had recently turned 21 lobbed back in Aus for a brief visit and had returned to GB by the time the GF rolled around, crazy but good times!.
 
I wish I was a Tigers supporter back in '05 :frowning: I was an AFL maniac in '05( I was only 7) but for me 2005 was the luckiest of sporting year for me. The Swans and Tigers won the GF and Batista won the Royal Rumble and headlined WM (Again, I was 7 so don't dis my liking of WWE lol)
 
@Tigersman said:
I wish I was a Tigers supporter back in '05 :frowning: I was an AFL maniac in '05( I was only 7) but for me 2005 was the luckiest of sporting year for me. The Swans and Tigers won the GF and Batista won the Royal Rumble and headlined WM (Again, I was 7 so don't dis my liking of WWE lol)
Click to expand...

Swans won the GF the day we beat the Drongons, my son kept running downstairs at the SFS to a bar he could see into through the galss wall, they had the swans game on live…also on the way to the SFS we got to sit on the SCG turf for a while as they had the game on the big screen...just wandered straight in, turf was like a snooker table

I was luck enough to get to all the game in the 05 finals series, plus Parra v NQ the day after the Saints game, Parra were prettyhot that year from memory and to say I was relieved when they got done was an undertstement

It was an amazing time, I have so many stories and memories that will stay with me forever
 
It was the first time we made the finals and in week 1 the club bought out: Wests Tigers semi finalists t-shirts.

Only club I have ever seen do that.

Of course they bought out the Grand Finaist and eventually Premier T-Shirts.

I bought the set and still wear them to this day!
 
Will never forget the tiger fan sitting behind me at telstra stadium that night. Halfway through the second half he just broke down in tears as the score line blew out. Maybe he sensed something about the coming month. Always remember it as a lasting memory of that night. I couldn't believe the score line or the way the tigers played. Especially after losing rounds 25 and 26.
 
I was just like a dream , you kept expecting to wake up and find out we were still running 12th

I wish every season was like that , Groundhog Day LOL
 
@jirskyr said:
Anyone actually have access to these games on file? I know some DVDs did the rounds a few years back, I obviously have the GF, but I've never had access to the other 2005 finals matches.

I'd be happy to put these into a torrent if someone could get me a copy, for all forummers to access.
Click to expand...

I managed to download them off NRL when they were still there, put them onto DVD. From memory the quality is not the best though.
 
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